Discussion

Sushi experience at The Kress

Then there is The Kress, named after the department store that was in this Art Deco building many years ago. Most recently this place was the longtime home of Frederick's of Hollywood. Now the decor is like a collision of Chinoiserie with Art Deco -- terribly over-the-top, yet some how strangely appropos to Hollywood. It's one big glamorous place that just shrieks swankosity.

But the food, it truly is noteworthy. We ate on the first floor a couple of weeks ago where we we enjoyed wonderful Asian inspired food. I recall having a most wonderful black cod that evening, as well as shrimp grilled on a large stone. But most notable is their executive sushi chef, Travis Kamiyama. Reviews here have likened it to Urasawa, so I was keen to sample such highly praised sushi. He has fresh fish flown in from Japan daily. We ordered omakase from Hiro, one of the chefs under Travis and it was well nigh a religious experience - halibut and snapper sashimi from Japan, the fattiest toro you can imagine, hamachi with truffle oil, geoduck and two varieties of eel that were unctuous and delightful. The uni looked just like a cat's tongue and melted in my mouth. We chatted with Hiro and Travis about manga and anime (Hiro san is quite the fan), and about my preference of Tatsuya Nakadai over Toshiro Mifune. Between courses I cast an eagle eye on my husband to observe strict sushi etiquette (fish this good need not be doused with shoyu and wasabi). No fears, it was all just one big domo arigato to Hiro sama, for he was truly a master of sushi. We treated the three chefs to glasses of sake. It was really some of the most marvelous sushi ever, and tragically near empty on an early Thursday evening (good for us though, ordering omakase).

Happy to say that although this restaurant looks really extravagant and trendy and has a nightclub, they have had really wonderful, personal service the two times I have eaten there.